Madama Butterfly - San Diego Opera Madama Butterfly In the Classroom Puccini and Madama Butterfly During the last nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Western world became fascinated with all things Japanese. When Commodore Perry entered Tokyo Bay in 1853, he opened to view a society and culture which had been hidden for a hundred of years. Soon exhibitions of Japanese art opened throughout the United States and Europe and japonisme became the rage as chinoiserie had been a century before. Japanese motifs such as bridges, fans, cranes, butterflies, and bamboo were incorporated into Western art and furnishings. Literature also responded to the influx of new themes. Poets such as Whitman, Longfellow and Yeats incorporated Japanese images into their works. Stories set in Japanese locals were written and several of these merged into the one depicted in Puccini's Madama Butterfly. In June of 1900 Puccini, already rich and famous, was in London for the first performance in England of his opera Tosca. Although he did not speak English, he went to see a performance of David Belasco's play Madame Butterfly, which had already been a success in New York.

While he could not understand the words, the beauty of the Japanese scenery and atmosphere of the play (especially the long vigil which Butterfly keeps after the return of Pinkerton's ship) made a profound impression on him. Puccini immediately thought of this as the subject of his next opera, and he persuaded the librettists, Illica and Giacosa, it would be worthy of their collaboration. It took several months for Puccini to get the rights to the play, but early in 1901, work could start on Madama Butterfly. The composer was always fascinated by the Orient (his last opera, Turandot, would be set in what is now Beijing, China). Since he was worried that the music would sound "too Italian", he sought advice from some Japanese acquaintances including a Japanese actress who was living in Milan. , and he studied Japanese folk music he acquired through Oyama Hisako, the wife of the Japanese Ambassador, who told him she knew a story like Butterfly's. From her he gained an idea of Japanese women's speech and movement patterns. He may have found some of his Japanese music themes in Messager's Madame Chrysanthème, and he even studied Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan.

He did not try to use Japanese instruments but instead tried combinations of the usual orchestral instruments to get the desired effects. He tried to make Pinkerton sing like an "American", but in this he failed. He sounds very Italian. There was confusion at first because Illica worked from Long's story and Puccini from Belasco's play, and Puccini demanded so many revisions that Illica complained to the publisher Ricordi. Eventually, the composition (1901-4) flowed fairly easily, even though it was interrupted for several months while Puccini recovered from a near-fatal automobile accident. finish the work. Since his leg did not permit him to sit at an upright piano, he bought a grand so he could finish the composition, and Giacosa agreed to help him. Illica had originally set one act in the American Consulate but Puccini did not like this and made him change it. Originally the last two scenes were in one act which lasted one and one-half hours, and Puccini refused to have a curtain after Butterfly's vigil. Giacosa was convinced this would ruin the opera; they quarreled, and their association almost ended.

(San Diego Opera's new version will take place in the Consulate, and the last two scenes will be played as Puccini originally wanted.) The rehearsals at La Scala Opera House in Milan, Italy went well, and all were sure that Butterfly would be a great success. What a shock it was when the February 17, 1904 opening night was an unmitigated fiasco. People recognized fragments of melodies from Puccini's other works. Butterfly's costume made her look pregnant. The audience hooted and shouted and cackled with laughter, making so much noise that the music could not be heard. After the final curtain there was total silence and the singers did not take a curtain call. It seemed clear that Puccini's enemies had hired a claque for the demonstration, but this was never proven. He was so upset that he took the orchestral score from the theater with him so that the opera could not be performed again. A new version was prepared with some cuts and added music for Pinkerton. On May 28, 1904, it received a triumphant "second premiere" before a distinguished audience in a small opera house in the nearby town of Brescia.

This time it was a success and it remains one of the most popular operas in the repertoire. It could have remained very successful as it was but, with Puccini's permission, further alterations were made by Albert Carré, a French opera director, for the Paris production, softening the character of Pinkerton and removing many of the racial slurs. Although there were several other changes made in the years to come, this became the standard version. Most of the features Illica and Giacosa had preferred over Puccini became the standard, but they were not to know, they had both died. Soon Madama Butterfly became a staple of the world's opera houses. It premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1907 with Geraldine Farrar as Cio-Cio-San and Enrico Caruso as Pinkerton. Madama Butterfly was the composer's favorite opera. He wrote: I still love Butterfly. I never listen with pleasure to any of my operas, with the exception perhaps of the last act of La bohème. But Butterfly, yes  everything! And I have the knowledge that I have written the most modern of my operas.

As a footnote, after Pearl Harbor, Madama Butterfly was not given again in America until almost 1949 or 1950. Geisha Although Puccini's Madama Butterfly is a geisha, her prototype was not. Loti was emphatic that those who entered into the 'treaty port' marriages were neither geishas not prostitutes. Still, in an era where a woman's place was either in the home or in a brothel, the life of a geisha provided an alternative for someone like Cio-Cio-San, not lucky enough to have a secure home. The word geisha literally means 'arts person'  a Japanese girl trained to be an entertainer. The true geisha are living works of art and, to popular opinion, geisha are not prostitutes. While some may have 'protectors', the strenuous life of a geisha is not compatible with that of a 'lady of the evening'. The Geisha tradition for women goes back to the eighteenth century. Before then, the earliest geisha were men! One hundred years ago there were about 80,000 geisha. Today there are fewer than 1,000.

While some geisha are still being trained, their art is disappearing. The system is under attack from Japanese women and other social reformers, who see it as a relic of Japan's past. A girl wishing to become a geisha goes through several years of rigorous training. As a maika she must remain a virgin, and she lives in an all-female house. She is not even allowed to go home during her first year of training. This training is very expensive. She must learn to sing, dance, and play the koto (harp) and the samisen (Japanese ukelele). She must have enough general education to tell stories and converse intelligently about business and current events with her clients, and she must be discreet, keeping to herself the business and state secrets discussed by those clients in her presence. She must also learn all of the Japanese customs relating to costume and flower arranging. And she must learn how to turn away amorous men with discretion. At fifteen, Cio-Cio-San was young to be a full-fledged geisha. Training normally starts about age eleven and takes at least five years.

When appearing before the public, the geisha wears an extremely colorful kimono, a wide sash or obi, and exaggerated white makeup which conceals emotions. She becomes the image of the perfect woman, the symbol of Japanese culture and refinement, a living work of art. She is not allowed to cry, must always be smiling, and must never seem bored. Her one job is to amuse men and her clients are usually men in their fifties and sixties who often treat a young geisha as they would their daughter. Most geisha remain single, if not virginal, all their lives. It is an occupation which can last a lifetime (one geisha performed regularly until a few months before her recent death at age 102), and a good geisha can become very rich. Only the wealthiest men can afford to be protectors to a geisha. Japan: Historical Background Much of Japan's early culture, including art, language, Buddhism andConfucianism was derived from China and, over the years, has become Japanese. During a period of civil wars in the fifteenth and sixteenth a feudal system, much like that of medieval Europe, developed.

Each lord had his knights, or samurai, who were bound to them by oaths of fealty. But it wasn't until the middle of the sixteenth century that the western world became interested in this island nation. In 1542 a Portuguese mariner, Fernando Mendez Pinto was wrecked there and brought back such glowing reports of the country that Portugal established a trading mission at Nagasaki. Soon Dutch merchants and European missionaries followed. In 1600 Tokugawa Ieyasu won a victory over the western lords and in 1603 became the Shogus, founding a dynasty which effectively ruled Japan until 1867. An Englishman, William Adams, who had served under Sir Francis Drake and had been a pilot for the Barbary merchants, joined a Dutch fleet which sailed for Japan. After a troubled beginning there, the Shogun, Tokugawa, took a liking to him, and he was given a house. Jesuits and Japanese missionaries Christians acted as interpreters. The emperor sent for him and asked him to build a ship. Although Adams knew nothing about shipbuilding, he was so successful that the Emperor gave him two swords (the mark of a samurai).

He also taught the emperor some mathematics. Although Adams had a wife in England, the emperor declared that William Adams was dead and reborn as Miura Anjin, free to marry again. He married a high-born Japanese woman, but eventually wished to go home. Permissioin was refused, he built another, larger ship and had over 80 retainers. He died in Japan in 1620. James Clavell's novel Shogun based on his experiences. Soon the Exclusion Decrees were published and Japan was closed to the West. After it was reopened in 1854, the Western world became fascinated with all things Japanese. Commodore Perry had opened to view a society and culture which had been hidden for hundreds of years. Soon exhibitions of Japanese art opened throughout the United States and Europe and japonisme became the rage as chinoiserie had been a century before. Japanese motifs such as bridges, fans, cranes, butterflies, and bamboo were incorporated into Western art and furnishings. Literature also responded to the influx of new themes. Poets such as Whitman, Longfellow and Yeats incorporated Japanese images into their works.

Stories set in Japanese locals were written and several of these merged into the one depicted in Puccini's Madama Butterfly. Libretto & Source [As is the case of many operas, the libretto for Madama Butterfly comes from a number of different sources. The official librettists, Guiseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, worked from the David Belasco play, Madame Butterfly, which Puccini saw in London on one of his frequent trips abroad. The play was based upon a short story by John Luther Long which was also, in part, based upon the story Madama ChrysanthÃ¨me by Pierre Loti. This article traces some of these sources to the opera. - NMR] The theme of women being deserted by foreign men is universal. There have been many 'Butterflies' in both fiction and real life. One story from Okinawa tells of Minamoto Tametomo, a twelfth century Japanese samurai warrior who sailed to Okinawa to avoid trouble at home. He became notorious, his wild ways annoying the king and nobles. They sought to rid themselves of him, but one of the lords, Takimini took Tametomo in as his guest.

Takimini had a beautiful daughter whom Temetomo wooed and won. Soon they had a son, Shunten. After a while, Tametomo tired of domestic tranquility on Okinawa, and decided to return to Japan. With many promises to return, he sailed away, leaving wife and child behind. For the rest of her life, the faithful woman kept a daily vigil on the beach in vain Word of her plight soon spread throughout Okinawa and the place she waited became known as Machiminato, the Waiting Port. It is still known by that name today. Her story has been told in Japan and Okinawa for 800 years. When he grew up, the son, Shunten, overthrew the king, in the so-called Ryukuan revolution and brought law and order among the island's feuding lords. The chain of which Okinawa is a part still bears the name 'Ryuku Islands'. The first extant novel to record a foreigner's affair with a Japanese woman is the 1887 Madame Chrysanthème by Pierre Loti, a French naval officer who served in the Far East.

His real name was Julien Marie Viaud, and he wrote some forty novels. The narrator of Madame Chrysanthème has two ambitions, first to find a Japanese temporary wife to live with in "a little paper house" and second, a tattoo. (The marriage broker's was Kangourou which would become Goro in later stories.) He gets his first wish, an eighteen-year-old temporary bride, O-Kiku-san, for the two and a half months he is in Nagasaki. Their house on a hill had paper walls and a splendid view of Nagasaki harbor. The wife is a purely business transaction, but she acts the part; during his five-day absence, she watches for his ship and decorates the house for his return. The story is extremely racist; the Japanese are "monkeys" and "toys" and he desires "a little yellow-skinned woman with black hair and cat's eyes". Soon the narrator finds his wife tiresome and longs to get rid of her. When his ship leaves she goes through the appropriate sighs and wailings of farewell, but she has known all along that the arrangement was temporary and carefully tests the money he gives her to make sure it is genuine.

Loti was in Nagasaki in 1885 and while there married a 17 year-old girl name O-Kane-san whom he left without regret. He kept a diary and used it to create his novel. He carefully notes that the girls who entered these temporary marriages were neither geishas nor prostitutes. His book was very popular, with 23 edition in five years, and it was translated into several languages, including English. Messager turned it into an opera which opened in Paris is 1893. He wrote most of the music while staying at the Villa d'Este near Como, Italy. One of the guests at the time was Puccini who most probably knew of it. In the late nineteenth century, Mrs. Sarah Jane Correll, the wife of a missionary, lived for a while in Nagasaki. Across the street from her lived a sweet and delicate tea-house girl named Cho-san, Miss Butterfly. She had a lover, a nice, but moody young man. He left Cho-san and her baby, promising to come back, even arranging a signal so she would know when his ship returned. She waited for hours every night, but he never returned. Mrs.

Correll told the story to her brother, John Luther Long, who worked all night writing the short story which was published in 1898. (NOTE: The complete text of this novella may be found in the ENO Guide.) In Long's version, Pinkerton and his friend Sayre discuss the Japanese marriages. With the help of the marriage broker, Goro, he marries Cho-Cho-san, but he does not allow her relatives to come to the house which he has rented for 999 years. The relatives, who had originally approved of the marriage, then disowned her. The bride understood the contract and its provisions, including the price. After Pinkerton leaves, she has her baby and she, Suzuki and Trouble live in the house but with little money. She refuses Prince Yamadori and consults Sharpless who informs Pinkerton of his child. When the ship returns Cho-Cho-san and Suzuki prepare the house, then wait days in vain. She sees Pinkerton with a blond woman, and after his ship leaves, Adelaide, Pinkerton's wife, comes and tries to take the baby. Cho-Cho-san starts to commit suicide, but Suzuki interrupts her and binds up her wounds.

When Mrs Pinkerton comes to collect the child, the house is empty. Butterfly has fled with her son and her end is not known. Suzuki marries the consul. Long's Butterfly is not very bright and is easily misled, but she has firm opinions. She knows she is being paid for her services but assumes Pinkerton knows she loves him. After all, he did not divorce her and has promised to come back. She toys with the idea of Christianity but in the end reverts to her Japanese traditions. Pinkerton's role in the story is very short. He appears on only four of the thirty-two pages. Many of the details are borrowed from Loti. Only Adelaide and Yamadori are original with Long. Long's knowledge of Japan was extensive. Details such as the 999 years and the description of the suicide attempt are very accurate. He knew that neglect of the rites for ancestors would provoke their anger. For this reason Butterfly considered converting to protect herself. 'Treaty-port marriages' had existed for centuries on the artificial island of Dejima in Nagasaki Bay where there was a Dutch trading post as early as 1630. Families could not be brought there so the marriage business started.

Some men left money for their 'wives' and children when they returned home and remained responsible for the rest of their lives. One month treaty-port marriages were common, especially in Nagasaki. They cost $4 for a license plus $15-$25 for a house and $10 for a servant. For some women it became a way of life, a career of serial 'marriages'. At the same time, there were also many regular interracial marriages. Such temporary marriages still exist in some parts of the world. Called sigheh in Iran, a couple signs a contract for as long as ninety-nine years or as short as a few minutes. This contract can specify a dowry and how much time they will spend together. Not all of the men were sailors. There was a German medical doctor, Philip Franz von Siebold. who arrived in 1823, gave lessons in western medicine and performed the first cataract surgery in Japan. He "married" Kusumoto Taki, whom he called her O-Taki-san and they had a daughter. As an amateur botanist he named a hydrangea after her: Hydrangea otaksa. After returning to Europe he wrote several books about his experiences.

Commodore Perry learned from them before sailing in 1853 to demand opening of the country. Von Siebold continued to correspond with Taki, returned in 1859, and met his Japanese family. His 'wife' had remarried twice, their daughter was 32 years old and a midwife. He arranged for her to study medicine, and she became the first female doctor in Japan. Attempts have been made to identify the real-life Pinkerton in Long's story. One candidate is William B. Franklin who, as an Ensign, entered Nagasaki harbor at the time Correll was there and stayed three weeks the first time and six and one-half the second. Many of the details of his visit fit the story. However, in Nagasaki temporary marriage registrations were periodically discarded; any pertinent records are long gone. The Music of Madama Butterfly Like all other Puccini operas, Madama Butterfly is filled with excellent examples of his brilliant approach to orchestration, his sensitivity to the theatrical, his extraordinary ability to build immediately accessible (and recognizable) melodies and his remarkable gift for creating just the right aural atmosphere for every dramatic moment.

Butterfly has a number of instances of exquisite tone-painting because the locale and the text offer the composer so many opportunities to do so, and as we've seen in La bohèmeand Tosca, Puccini takes wonderful advantage of these opportunities. One case in point is how Puccini deals with Butterfly's vigil and the appearance of dawn over Nagasaki in the transition in Act II. Just as with the case of the opening of Act III of Tosca, an atmosphere is created that is as much about lighting and stage design as it is about the story. Puccini is creating a 'sonic environment' within which the denouement can naturally unfold. There is, too, something magical about the 'humming chorus' and its connection to the very specific stage directions that Puccini has placed in the score: Suzuki closes the shosi...the night grows darker...Butterfly leads the baby to the shosi...she makes three holes in it for herself, Suzuki and the baby...it is night...the rays of the moon light up the shosi from without. The music accompanying these actions is not so much specific as it allows for all of the above actions to take place in the proper environment.

The lengthy orchestra prelude to the second scene of Act II is like a splash of water on one's face; it's not the dawn described in Tosca or at the barrier d'enfers in La bohème (in both cases a misty dawn which manages to be tinged with both hope and darkness), but the cold light of the day in which Butterfly must give up her dream of happiness, her son and ultimately her life. Other touches of tone-painting involve some kind of expression of the Oriental, the exotic, like the Japanese 'band' that appears at the end of Butterfly's entrance. Puccini had no time for such authenticity as the use of true Japanese instruments, but he gives his audience the next best thing by recreating the effect of such a band by reducing the instrumentation to flute, piccolo, harp and glockenspiel. After the climax of the choral entrance and Butterfly's high note, this sudden reduction is indeed dramatic. The closest Puccini gets to using authentic instrumentation is the use of campanelli giapponese, Japanese bells, which make their appearance during the wedding scene.

In line with the touches of exoticism found in the orchestral score are the attempts made by the composer to identify authentic Japanese melodies that could be woven into the fabric of the work. There is the Japanese national anthem, a tune which Puccini uses to announce the Imperial Commissioner just prior to the wedding ceremony in Act I. A tune called the "'Cherry-Blossom Song" can be found in the oboe part as Butterfly takes her personal possessions out of her sleeves and gives them to Suzuki for safe keeping. The Nihon Bashi, another Japanese traditional melody, can be heard soaring in the violins immediately after the marriage ceremony is complete in Act I, just before Cio-Cio-San corrects her friends and relations and refers to herself as "Madama B. F. Pinkerton". The song My Prince can be heard in association with the arrival of Prince Yamadori in Act II. Another tune is associated with Suzuki's prayer at the beginning of Act II. The original Japanese tune is Suzuki's vocal line E Izaghi ed Izanami, Sarundasico e Kami. Each character in Madama Butterfly has his or her own 'music', something that occurs in Puccini's earlier operas.

Lieutenant Pinkerton, for instance, is identified by the theme that runs through Dovunque al mondo. He is also identified by the 'head-motive' of the Star-Spangled Banner which is heard as an introduction to Dovunque. Sharpless, the American consul, is introduced by a broad, optimistic musical figure that begins as an octave leap and successfully describes him bounding up the hill just before his first appearance in the opera. Butterfly has two thematic ideas attached to her, both of which come into play during her entrance with the relatives. The first can be heard at the beginning of her entrance played by solo violin and viola, then by various other combinations of instruments as the motive goes up and up through various keys. The second idea is an immediate outgrowth of the earlier tune, on Butterfly's line D'amor venni alle soglie...(I have come to the threshold of love). Puccini separates these two tunes and uses them interchangeably in identifying Butterfly at various points in the opera. But we can't leave the world of Butterfly without spending a little time with Cio-Cio-San's second act aria, Un bel dì (One fine day).

This all-too-often-performed aria needs to be looked at afresh because it is truly one of the most wonderful 'character' arias in the operatic repertoire; it reflects Cio-Cio-San's state at a particular moment in the drama, is as structurally perfect as a piece of music can be, and gives us a sub-text of emotion that is not readily apparent unless we're listening for it. The beginning of the aria is simple and straightforward, describing how she will see that thin 'thread of smoke rising over the horizon", sung to one of those typical Puccini melodies that seem to turn in on themselves. This is all sung to the most basic accompaniment in the orchestra: clarinet, harp and solo violin doubling the voice pp and ppp, muted violins and woodwinds providing a transparent harmonic wash. Notice that in this opening section there is essentially one note per syllable, one syllable per note in the melody. This is about to change radically. In the second section a Puccini thematic hallmark reappears: the arched melody based on rising and falling scale passages (Poi la nave bianca  Then the white ship).

In the next few lines we can observe little touches of excitement on Butterfly's part, evinced by the occasional rapid note values (...e aspetto gran tempo e non mi pesa  and wait a long time but I won't mind). The winds in the orchestra now pulse off the beat, a kind of syncopated 'heart beat' as she grows more excited about picking him out of the crowd (È uscito dalla folla cittadina un uomo  It is a man coming from the city crowd); and then she sees the tiny speck, a man "who makes his way toward the hill" to another slightly arched melody describing in musical form the 'hill' itself. The next section is eerily accompanied by three trumpets played with mutes emphasizing both her excitement and the distance from which she 'sees' him. His calling out to her from that distance (Chiamerà "Butterfly" dalla lontana He will call "Butterfly" from a distance) is expressed by two solo violins with mutes. The note values in these sections become shorter and shorter, perfectly expressing her excitement.

But it is at the return of the 'big tune' where the true genius of Puccini's musical characterization is revealed. Think about the aria's sub-text: Butterfly is not only getting more and more excited about imagining her sailor's return, she is also deeply troubled about the possibility that he might not return at all. No longer do we have one syllable for one note of the melody. We have many notes superimposed over the melody. Why is Butterfly becoming so 'chatty' in the penultimate section of this aria? Her insecurity is beginning to show: she's trying to cover it up with words, words and more words! This insecurity is only banished in the final section of the aria when she finally convinces herself (if not Suzuki) that he will return, and that with 'unshakeable faith', she will wait for him. Puccini's grasp of human emotion and psychology in this aria is nothing short of extraordinary. The music describes exactly how we react not only emotionally but physically in such a situation, imagining that the more we stutter, shuffle and 'chat' when confronted with heartache, the easier it will be to stave off the pain that must inevitably come.

Synopsis Note: In this production, the setting is no longer the little house on the hill. Much of the action takes place in the United States consulate in Nagasaki. This will cause some changes in the action, although not in the words or the music. ACT I: The United states Consulate in Nagasaki Japan, at the turn of the century The set is divided into two rooms, the consul's office and a waiting room in which there are a number of people. After a brief orchestral introduction, we see the American naval officer, Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, with the obsequious marriage broker, Goro, who is showing him a model of the house he has just rented for 999 years with the option to cancel on one month's notice. Pinkerton plans to live there with his new bride, the fifteen year old Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly). The American consul, Sharpless, arrives, and as the men have a drink, Pinkerton explains the terms of his lease and boasts of the life of Yankee sailors. They travel all over the world, enjoying the best of each country, including its women (Dovunque al mundo  Wherever in the world).

He adds that he will marry in the 'Japanese fashion', also for 999 years, with the option of an annulment every month. Sharpless is disturbed by this and warns him that Cio-Cio-San may take the marriage seriously. Pinkerton laughs this warning off and toasts the day he will have a real American wedding with "una vera sposa Americana: (a real American wife). Cio-Cio-San, her bridesmaids, and her relatives arrive, joyfully singing of the wedding day. When asked about herself, the bride tells Sharpless that, although she is only 15 years old, her family has come on hard times and she has had to earn her living as a geisha. Shyly she shows Pinkerton the few treasures she has brought with her. Among them is a pot of rouge, a symbol of her former profession. She throws it away, then refuses to let him the see most precious treasure of all. Goro whispers that it is the knife with which her father had committed suicide. She also has some Ottoki, or small figurines representing the souls of her ancestors.

(Butterfly says these are the spirits of her ancestors, but Ottoki are really small statues of Buddha.) Confiding that she has been to the Christian mission in Nagasaki and renounced her Buddhist faith, she throws the Ottoki away. The wedding ceremony takes place, supervised by the Imperial Commissioner and the Imperial Registrar. As the guests toast the newly married couple (O Kami, O Kami), a dramatic figure bursts on the scene: it is Cio-Cio-San's uncle, the Bonze, a Buddhist priest, furious on learning that she has changed her religion. He curses her and demands that her friends and relatives renounce her. Although Butterfly is convinced she is entering into a true marriage in the American style, not Japanese, her friends and relatives know there will soon be a divorce. As they all leave, Pinkerton comforts his sobbing bride. In a soaring duet, the shy girl starts to grow into a passionate woman (Viene la sera  The evening comes). ACT II Three years later Pinkerton has long since been recalled to the United States, promising to return "when the robins nest".

Suzuki, Cio-Cio-San's maid and friend, prays to Buddha for Pinkerton's return and an end to her mistress's unhappiness. When she shows Cio-Cio-San how little money they have left, she is unconcerned; she is sure her husband will return and imagines her meeting with him (Un bel dì  One fine day). Sharpless shows Cio-Cio-San a letter from Pinkerton in which the Lieutenant informs him that he will soon return with his real American wife. He has asked the Consul to tell Cio-Cio-San. Just the sight of the letter throws the girl into such a transport of joy that Sharpless cannot bring himself to relay the news. The scene is interrupted by the arrival of Prince Yamadori, a new suitor that Goro has been pressing on Cio-Cio-San. She indignantly asserts that she is already married; Pinkerton's leaving does not constitute divorce. After the Prince departs, Sharpless asks Cio-Cio-San what she would do if Pinkerton never returned. She replies that she might go back to her life as a geisha, but she would rather die.

She goes to the other room and returns with her fair-haired, blue-eyed son, Trouble. His name will be changed to Joy when his father comes back, as she is sure he will when he learns he has a son. Completely overcome, Sharpless promises to tell Pinkerton about the boy. Soon the harbor cannons announce the arrival of Pinkerton's ship, the Abraham Lincoln. Suzuki and Cio-Cio-San happily decorate their house with flowers (Flower duet). As evening brings darkness, Suzuki and Trouble fall asleep but Cio-Cio-San, to the accompaniment of the 'Humming Chorus', remains standing and watching. As dawn breaks, she is still standing motionless. Suzuki awakens and sends her off to rest. As the maid prays, she is interrupted by Sharpless and Pinkerton, but her joy turns to dismay when she learns that the elegant lady waiting outside is Pinkerton's wife. Sharpless asks Suzuki to convince Cio-Cio-San that it would be better to let the Pinkertons have the child. Faced with the proof of the strength of Butterfly's unbroken faith and love, Pinkerton finally realizes how wrong he was.

After singing a regretful farewell to the little house where he had once been so happy (Addio fiorito asil  Goodbye flowery retreat), he rushes away. When Kate Pinkerton comes in, Cio-Cio-San immediately understands the situation. Swallowing her grief, she congratulates Kate on her marriage, and agrees to give up the child if Pinkerton himself will come to collect him. After sending the weeping Suzuki away, Cio-Cio-San gets her father's sword. She reads the words inscribed on the blade: "To die with honor when one can no longer live with honor". She is about to use the knife to kill herself, when Suzuki pushes Trouble into the room. Taking her son into her arms, Cio-Cio-San sobs a heartbroken farewell; she is going to die so that he might go to America and not think that his mother had abandoned him. Then, seizing the knife, she kills herself. Staggering towards the child, she collapses on the floor beside him as Pinkertons voice is heard calling her name. CONNECT WITH US Puccini Madama Butterfly (Cio-Cio-San) opera. Mariinsky theatre.

Tickets to Madama Butterfly opera The Mariinsky (Kirov Ballet) Theatre Madama Butterfly opera U.S. Navy Lieutenant Pinkerton, known for his levity, falls in love with the young Japanese girl Cio-Cio-San, known as Madama Butterfly. She loves him passionately and leaves her marriage for him in spite of the fact that all relatives turned away from her. Soon after the wedding Pinkerton leaves. He does not appear for three years, and his wife brings up her child alone and thinks of him. When at last he returns, he shows her his new wife and demands to give his child to him. She submits to his will but cannot go through her suffering and dishonor. Theatre address: Theatralnaya sq., 1 Show begins at 7 p.m.

Duration: 3 hours and 10 minutes, 2 acts Performed in Italian Saturday at the Opera: Puccini's 'Madame Butterfly' from San Francisco Opera - WQXR Puccini's 'Madame Butterfly' from San Francisco Opera Brian Wise Puccini's 'Madama Butterfly' in a production by Jun Kaneko (© Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera) This Saturday at 1 pm, join us for the San Francisco Opera's 2014 performance of Madama Butterfly, starring soprano Patricia Racette as Cio-Cio-San and American tenor Brian Jagde as Pinkerton. One of Puccini's most beloved operas follows the ill-fated love between an American Lieutenant and a Japanese teenager. Shortly after their marriage, the lieutenant, Pinkerton, leaves his new wife Cio-Cio-San and doesn't return for three years. When he does, Cio-Cio-San has a surprise: a baby boy. Unfortunately for Cio-Cio-San, Pinkerton also has some unexpected news.

Cast: Giacomo Puccini: Madama Butterfly | DeepDyve Try 2 weeks free now Giacomo Puccini: Madama Butterfly Sheppard, W. Anthony Performance Giacomo Puccini: Madama Butterfly Metropolitan Opera House, reviewed October 12, 2007 Production premiere: English National Opera, 2005 Conductor: Mark Elder Director: Anthony Minghella Associate Director and Choreographer: Carolyn Choa Set Designer: Michael Levine Costume Designer: Han Feng Lighting Designer: Peter Mumford Puppetry: Mark Down and Nick Barnes, Blind Summit Theatre Cio-Cio-San: Patricia Racette Lt. B. F. Pinkerton: Roberto Alagna Suzuki: Maria Zifchak U.S. Consul Sharpless: Luca Salsi Goro: David Cangelosi What exactly does a film director who has professed interest in traditional Japanese theater bring to a production of Madama Butterfly? Common tropes in the critical response to Anthony Minghella's staging have included references to his "striking cinematic touches" and his "extensive" engagement with Japanese performance techniques, but without much definition of either being proffered.

At a moment when many opera companies appear eager to explore multiple ways of embracing cinema--not least by employing film directors for new productions--Minghella's Butterfly offers an opportunity to consider what a "cinematic" staging might entail.1 Likewise, at a moment when techniques derived from East Asian theater traditions are increasingly encountered in the opera house, it behooves us to reflect on such cross-cultural trends. Minghella's Butterfly was premiered in 2005 by English The Opera Quarterly Oxford University Press Performance Madama Butterfly | Opéra de Montréal Act 1 – Outside a house in Nagasaki United States Navy Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton visits the house he has purchased from Goro, a marriage broker, who has also organized a Japanese-style marriage arrangement with young Cio-Cio-San, also called Butterfly. Pinkerton is joined by Sharpless, the American Consul, to whom he explains his carefree philosophy: he is a navy man roaming the world in search of pleasure. Butterfly enters, singing joyously. She tells Pinkerton that she intends to give up her ancestors’ religion and embrace his.

Butterfly’s uncle bursts upon the scene, interrupting the marriage ceremony and cursing the young girl for having renounced her faith. Furious, Pinkerton orders everyone to leave. Alone, the couple sings a passionate love duet. Act 2 – Inside Butterfly’s house Three years have gone by and Butterfly still hopes for her husband’s return. The maid, Suzuki, shows Butterfly how little money is left, but Butterfly tells her to have faith: one fine day, Pinkerton’s ship will appear on the horizon. Sharpless arrives with a letter from Pinkerton but, before he can read it to Butterfly, Goro brings in the latest in a long line of suitors for Butterfly’s hand — Prince Yamadori. Steadfast, Cio-Cio-San dismisses them both. Sharpless again starts to read the letter, trying to get Butterfly to accept the hard facts, but she insists that as soon as Pinkerton knows of the existence of their son, he will come back. Moved by her devotion, Sharpless leaves, lacking the heart to tell her that the Lieutenant has re-married. The report of a cannon is heard; it is Pinkerton’s ship entering the harbour.

Delirious with joy, Butterfly orders Suzuki to help her decorate the house with blossoms. Act 3 – Inside Butterfly’s house Butterfly has waited all night. Suzuki insists that Butterfly rest. Before long, Sharpless, Pinkerton, and his new wife, Kate, enter. Suzuki soon realizes who the American woman is, and agrees to break the news to Butterfly. Pinkerton does not have the courage to face the woman he betrayed but wants to ensure a good future for his child. Overcome with remorse, he rushes away. Butterfly appears and, upon seeing Kate, soon guesses the truth. She agrees to give up her child on the condition that Pinkerton will return for him. Then, sending Suzuki away, Butterfly takes her father’s dagger and bids farewell to her son. She then stabs herself and dies as Pinkerton returns, calling her name. Met Opera: Madama Butterfly | Classical MPR Met Opera: Madama Butterfly Apr 2, 2016 A scene from Puccini's "Madama Butterfly." Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera Join us Saturday at noon for a live broadcast of Puccini's Madama Butterfly, from the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Kristine Opolais reprises her acclaimed portrayal of the title role, opposite Roberto Alagna as Pinkerton. SYNOPSIS ACT I Japan, early 20th century. Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton of the U.S. Navy inspects a house overlooking Nagasaki harbor that he is leasing from Goro, a marriage broker, who has also arranged his union with a young geisha named Cio-Cio-San, known as Madame Butterfly. The American consul Sharpless arrives for the wedding ceremony and Pinkerton describes to him his philosophy of the fearless Yankee roaming the world in search of experience and pleasure. He is not sure whether his feelings for the young girl are love or a whim, but he intends to go through with the wedding. Sharpless warns him that the girl may view the marriage more seriously, but Pinkerton brushes off his concerns and declares that someday he will take a real, American wife. Butterfly is heard climbing the hill with her friends. In casual conversation after the formal introduction, Butterfly admits her age, 15, and explains that her family was once prominent but lost its position, and she has had to earn her living as a geisha. Her relatives arrive and chatter about the marriage.

Cio-Cio-San shows Pinkerton her few possessions and quietly tells him she has been to the Christian mission to convert to her husband's religion. The Imperial Commissioner reads the marriage agreement, and the relatives congratulate the couple. Suddenly, a threatening voice is heard from afar — it is the Bonze, Butterfly's uncle, a priest. He curses the girl for rejecting her ancestral religion. Pinkerton orders everyone to leave, and as they go the Bonze and the shocked relatives denounce Cio-Cio-San. Pinkerton tries to console Butterfly with sweet words. She is helped by Suzuki into her wedding kimono, and joins Pinkerton in the garden, where they make love. ACT II — PART 1 Three years have passed, and Cio-Cio-San awaits her husband's return. Suzuki prays for help, but Butterfly berates her for believing in Japanese gods rather than in Pinkerton's promise to return one day. Sharpless appears with a letter from Pinkerton, but before he can read it to Butterfly, Goro arrives with the latest potential husband for Butterfly, the wealthy Prince Yamadori. Butterfly politely serves the guests tea but insists she is not available for marriage--her American husband has not deserted her.

She dismisses Goro and Yamadori. Sharpless attempts to read Pinkerton's letter but is repeatedly interrupted by Butterfly in her excitement to hear from her husband. Finally giving up, he asks her what she would do if Pinkerton never returned. The shocked Butterfly replies she would either become a geisha again, or better die. Sharpless, resigned, suggests that perhaps she should reconsider Yamadori's offer. Butterfly is outraged and runs out, returning with her small son. Sharpless, too upset to tell her more of the letter's contents, leaves, promising to tell Pinkerton of the child. A cannon shot is heard in the harbor announcing the arrival of a ship. Butterfly and Suzuki take a telescope to the terrace and read the name of Pinkerton's ship. Overjoyed, Butterfly joins Suzuki in strewing the house with flowers. As night falls, Butterfly, Suzuki, and the child settle into a vigil watching over the harbor. ACT II — PART 2 Dawn breaks, and Suzuki insists that Butterfly get some sleep. Butterfly carries the child into another room. Sharpless appears with Pinkerton and Kate, Pinkerton's new wife.

Suzuki realizes who the American woman is and agrees to help break the news to Butterfly. Pinkerton is overcome with guilt as he remembers his days in the house and runs from the scene. Cio-Cio-San rushes in hoping to find Pinkerton, but sees Kate instead. After a moment, she grasps the situation. Now left without hope, she agrees to give up the child but insists Pinkerton return for him. She dismisses everyone and takes out the dagger with which her father committed suicide, choosing to die with honor rather than live in shame. She is interrupted momentarily when her son comes running in. After saying an emotional goodbye she blindfolds the child. Then she stabs herself as Pinkerton is heard from outside calling her name. Gallery

Question: In which Puccini opera does Lieutenant Pinkerton appear?
Answer: Madame Butterfly